More than 110 strawberry breeding lines in development

Red Sun Farms, Heritable Agriculture, and Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti (CIV) have announced significant progress in their collaborative effort to develop the leading indoor-grown strawberry at the Vineland Research Station facility. This partnership combines CIV's expertise in strawberry genetics and germplasm, Heritable Agriculture's AI-driven breeding models, and Red Sun Farms' indoor growing knowledge to change how premium strawberries are bred and grown.

By using AI simulations to predict crop performance, the partnership is streamlining breeding timelines and optimizing key traits for greenhouse efficiency. This approach lets the team bring high-quality, innovative strawberry varieties to market faster, with growers, consumers, and the environment in mind.

Heritable Agriculture's predictive AI technology generalizes across species, environments, and traits, making it adaptable to almost any agricultural operation. When paired with Red Sun Farms' vertically integrated model and CIV's breeding capabilities, this collaboration sets a new benchmark in indoor fruit innovation.

A key differentiator of this initiative is the early involvement of eight retail partners representing more than eight thousand North American store locations. By bringing retailers into the breeding process from the start, the project connects real consumer insights and market needs with advanced technology, ensuring the varieties developed are optimized not only for performance but also for taste, texture, and shopper appeal.

© Red Sun Farms

Last week, retail partners joined the research team at Vineland for an exclusive first look at more than one hundred and ten strawberry breeding lines now in development. Through guided sensory evaluations, partners provided valuable feedback that will help shape the next phase of selection and innovation.

"At Vineland, we're proud to be at the forefront of horticultural innovation by combining world-class research, advanced technology, and industry collaborations to deliver premium, sustainable strawberries to the consumer," said Ian Potter, President and CEO, Vineland Research. "It's been incredible to see this research come to life and be validated directly through customer feedback."

© Red Sun Farms

"We're bringing AI solutions to indoor growers, beginning with greenhouse strawberries," added Davide Sosso, CSO at Heritable Agriculture. "This work is setting a new standard for strawberry flavor and quality, which is why retailers were here this week to learn more."

"For CIV, this collaboration represents an important step in turning our genetic research into real value for the entire supply chain," said Federico Stanzani, General Manager of CIV. "Providing our germplasm and integrating it with Heritable's predictive models, Red Sun's cultivation expertise, and the research capabilities of Vineland Research lets us speed up indoor breeding, optimize key traits, and develop varieties that can excel in greenhouses from the earliest stages. This synergy between advanced genetics, artificial intelligence, and precision growing shows technological potential and delivers results for growers, retailers, and consumers, creating strawberries that are ready for market demands."

© Red Sun Farms

"We are entering a new era of produce development where we no longer have to choose between yield and flavor. This partnership brings together the four pillars of modern agriculture: advanced genetics, predictive AI, precision growing, and direct retail feedback. By aligning these forces from day one, we are creating a feedback loop that has never existed before," said Paul J Mastronardi, Business Development and Account Manager. "We are effectively reverse engineering the perfect strawberry based on what consumers want, ensuring that when these varieties reach the shelf, they are already proven winners."

As the project advances, Red Sun Farms, Heritable Agriculture, CIV, and Vineland remain committed to driving sustainable, technology-enabled innovation that improves quality, productivity, and flavor in the strawberry category.